Restless

LoveReading View on Restless

I am an enormous fan of William Boyd although some of his novels are a little disappointing. Not this one. I must admit I was surprised to discover that it is actually just a spy story … but what a story. It begins in 1976 when Ruth discovers her mother is not the cantankerous English lady she was always known, but one Eve Delectorskaya, spy and wartime heroine. Eve’s wartime story then unfolds alongside the present and more surprises. This is terrific stuff, beautifully written, suspenseful, compulsive, emotional and historically fascinating. It’s one hell of a tale. I loved it. ~ Sarah Broadhurst

Winner of the Costa Novel Award 2006.

Judges' comment: "Beautifully crafted. Boyd gives us a page-turner, despite the story's complex wartime intrigue. Restless is packed with riveting detail: it is a novel reeking of authenticity."

Restless Synopsis

A beautiful new limited edition paperback of Restless, published as part of the Bloomsbury Modern Classics list

She continued her cross-examination and watched Romer's pleasure grow; he was enjoying this, she saw, and his enjoyment began to anger her. This wasn't some pastime, some idle flirtation - her brother was dead. Eva Delectorskaya, a beautiful Russian emigree living in Paris, is recruited for the British Secret Service by the mysterious Lucas Romer. Under his tutelage she becomes the perfect spy - trusting no one, even those she loves most. Since the close of the Second World War, Eva has carefully rebuilt her life as a typical English wife. But once a spy, always a spy. Now she must complete one final assignment, and this time Eva can't do it alone: she needs her daughter's help...

Restless Press Reviews

'Boyd is English fiction's master storyteller ... Restless is that rare thing: a spy thriller from a first-rate narrative intelligence' Independent on Sunday

'Fast moving, densely plotted, beautifully observed and probably one of the best things Boyd has done' Esquire

'A good, rollicking read ... pulls you deep in to the obscure, forgotten intricacies of wartime espionage ... will keep you turning pages until the end' Observer

'Heart-stoppingly exciting ... a riveting tale of wartime derring-do' Time Out

About William Boyd

William Boyd is the author of eleven novels including A Good Man in Africa, winner of the Whitbread Award and the Somerset Maugham Award; An Ice-Cream War, winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and shortlisted for the Booker Prize; Brazzaville Beach, winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize; Any Human Heart, winner of the Prix Jean Monnet and adapted into a Channel 4 drama; Restless, winner of the Costa Novel of the Year, the Yorkshire Post Novel of the Year and a Richard & Judy selection; Ordinary Thunderstorms and, most recently, the Sunday Times bestseller, Waiting for Sunrise. William ...